It was quite a drive to get out to the cave. We didn't leave until 6:30 p.m. since that was the earliest that Dave's son could get off work. We drove out to Wendover, grabbed a bite (or a smoothie), and headed out into the vast blackness that was the Nevada desert towards Ely. Being nighttime, you couldn't really tell how far we were going or what was passing us as we went. After an hour or so, we turned off the highway onto a paved road and started heading west again. Then we turned onto a dirt road that took us back north and out into the middle of the desert.
Thankfully, we had Dave to guide us as the turnoff to get to the cave was all but impossible to find without knowing where to look. The "road" finally led us to the foot of the mountains and we climbed up the washed out trail to finally come to a stop at a makeshift parking lot. The night was surprisingly warm and clear, perfect for hiking. We shouldered our packs and started for the trail.
The trail started out as a gradual incline, but soon became steeper as we went. It wasn't too bad of a hike at all. Although it was steep, it was short. It wasn't long until we found ourselves at the base of a rock face that Dave's son, Kurt, scampered up. He attached a climbing strap to a nearby tree and we took turns climbing up the rock face to the top.
At the top, we found ourselves on a shelf under a large rock overhang overlooking the valley below. Even though everything was dark below us, it was beautiful. We hugged the rock face on a narrow trail and found ourselves at the mouth of the cave! Just kneeling down in front of the opening you could feel the warm air escaping from the caverns inside. A final photo and in we went!
The narrow mouth opened into a large cavernous room that was extremely dusty! It had several opening leading off in various directions into the dark. There was a log book there as well, which of course we signed. tB reppin' in the NV. Harry Hatchet had also passed this way...
Dave led us around the passages to "The Bedroom," a large room with a soft sandy floor that was to be our sleeping quarters for the night. It was now after 11:30 p.m., but we were too excited to sleep. We made got our beds all set up and prepared our day (night) packs to go deeper into the cave. Dave and Kurt led the way and we found plenty to see and photograph!
It was about 3:00 a.m. when we finally crawled back into "The Bedroom", covered in dirt and grime but super stoked! We changed into fresh clothes, tooled up some snacks, and hunkered down for the night while Dave shared a scary caving story with us. It wasn't really that scary, but even if it had been it wouldn't have mattered. We were too exhausted to care.
We awoke the next morning and packed up our gear. Kind of funny how being in the dark of a cave kind of limits the time you spend poking around camp. We were ready in minutes and headed back to the mouth of the cave.
We emerged into the bright sun and got our first real glimpse of the valley below. It was a breathtaking sight. I couldn't help but appreciate being able to feel the wind on my face and being able to really see again. It felt quite refreshing after spending the last few hours in the dark cave. We climbed down the climbing strap in turn and made our way down the trail.
We made it back to the truck in no time and took off our packs. Back in the trucks, we made our way back across the desert valley, up the dirt road, and hit the pavement back to Wendover. This was such an awesome trip! I sure am glad we had guides down in the cave because we would have been lost without them. (Thanks Dave and Kurt!) Great adventure.
